


No Meddling

by navaan



Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Community: wintercompanion, Established Relationship, Ficlet, M/M, Relationship(s), Resolution, Timey-Wimey
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-02-02
Updated: 2011-02-02
Packaged: 2017-10-15 08:14:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 889
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/158853
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/navaan/pseuds/navaan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Doctor is determined to avoid spoilers - even if Amy thinks he's an impossible boyfriend</p>
            </blockquote>





	No Meddling

**Author's Note:**

> a little End of Time, a little season 5, nothing serious
> 
> Originally written for the [](http://community.livejournal.com/wintercompanion/profile)[](http://community.livejournal.com/wintercompanion/)**wintercompanion** challenge "Resolutions"  
> 

It was Amy who spotted him first. He was sitting at the bar alone, drinking. And it was obvious that he wasn’t happy.

She nudged the Doctor and pointed him over to the lonely figure.

The Doctor only shrugged and tried to pull her away. “Jack, yes. Not the right one though. Too early for him.”

“Are you not going to talk to him?” Amy wanted to know. “He looks like someone who is about to commit suicide. The least you could do is talk to him.”

“No. Absolutely not. Far too soon.”

“Are you kidding me? Look at him. Go on, say something.”

The Doctor sighed. “He has never met _this_ me, Amy.” She gave him a stern look, probably not even understanding what he was getting at. So he pointed at the back of the man and explained: “He is not _my_ Jack, not the Jack you know. He is technically from my past.”

“Technically,” she nodded. “You mean this is out of sequence? Like with River?”

“Well. Yeah... And no. Because we are not going to meddle _here_ out of sequence. We’re just going to mind our own business and find the person who has stolen the Sonic Screwdriver...” He stepped towards the back of the room, keeping out of Jack’s sight and pulling Amy along with him.

“Whatever could have happened to make him so...” Amy was still looking at Jack’s hunched over form. “Still think you should go over and say something. Give him hope at least.”

The Doctor turned to look for a moment, too, although he still seemed uncomfortable and in a hurry. “I am giving him hope. Stop worrying, Amy.” His eyes were darting around again, looking around for an exit, already on the jump again.“ Jack has worked through this point in his life without _me_ -me and he’s fine now, right? But we should really, really leave now, before someone passes him a note and this could get really, really, really uncomfortable...”

“What does that even mean? Me-me?” She gave a last look to the sad form of Jack Harkness and then followed to the back entrance. The Doctor had already reached the door and wasted no time. Amy hesitated for a moment, watching when the bar tender slid Jack a piece of paper exactly like the Doctor had predicted and looked up. She couldn’t see his face, but the man behind the bar indicated a man in a brown coat at the edge of the crowd. Handsome. Looking sad.

Amy didn’t stay to watch, feeling as if she was seeing something she shouldn’t know anything about.

***

“So are you going to explain this to me?”

“What?” The Doctor didn't even look up, absentmindedly twirling his beloved screwdriver in his right hand.

“Jack, you scatterbrain.”

He sighed. “I couldn’t have gone over. We weren’t like we are now then and...”

“You weren’t together?” She knew he was uncomfortable to give a name to that thing he had with Jack, but she wouldn’t let him get away with this.

He was already busying himself with the Tardis controls, propelling them into the Vortex. “He didn’t know he’d ever see me again then. That influenced his decisions and he made a new life that made him the man he is now. I’ve sworn to myself I’ll not let spoilers ruin any of that. Not for him - and not for _me_.”

She had a sudden flash of the man in the brown coat with the sad eyes. But she didn’t want to hurt the Doctor by bringing it up. “So you didn’t want to spoil anything, yeah? You see him sitting there, in need of a friend and a little hope, and walk away, because you don’t want to let him know what happens in his future? Even if it's something good?” Amy wasn’t going to pretend she understood this kind of thinking.

The Doctor didn’t stop meddling with his controls, but he sounded a lot more serious when he answered her. “Our future, Amy, _our_ future. And I didn’t say walking away was easy. Believe me.” He looked at her sideways with a serious look that made him look like a kicked puppy.

The phone rang beside her, and Amy picked up before the Doctor was even half around the console. “Yes?” She smiled. “Hi, Jack. Of course, he’s here. Tell him he’s an awful boyfriend.”

The Doctor grabbed the receiver from her hand. “I have you know I’m a wonderful boyfriend.” Amy could hear Jack answering and the Doctor smiled at whatever he was saying. “Ah. She thinks I’m horrible for not jumping you before I should.” He looked at her with twinkling eyes while Jack answered. “Yeah. Don’t worry. I have willpower enough to keep myself from messing up our time lines more than necessary. It’s you I’m worried about...”

Amy chuckled at the exchange and watched him hang up with a sigh.

“We’re making a trip to the planet Jack’s on. He’s in trouble of course.”

“Of course,” she echoed, laughing, happy that at least they could help that Jack when he needed it. “You'll jump him then?”

The Doctor rolled his eyes. “He's a bad influence on you.”

She laughed at that. After all she had a feeling that Jack had a good influence on the Doctor.


End file.
